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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Getting around many parts of the country will still be difficult today after sleet and freezing rain coated a heavy snowfall. In some spots, the wintery slush has frozen and, with more snow coming today, could be a dangerous combination that spells more chaos on the roads. In the nation’s capital, the federal and D.C. governments are on a two-hour delay, giving true political junkies time to watch a few new episodes of the Hill drama House of Cards before heading to work (season two is out at 8am today: http://bit.ly/1gdY2V3).

Metro will be open again today, but a few hundred miles north, the Metro-North commuter railroad is only running at 40 percent of normal capacity. Dulles and Reagan National airports will be open after closing for part of Thursday, though plenty of flights today will be cancelled (airport updates here: http://bit.ly/1bQTzTv). Amtrak will run “most” Northeast Regional trains today and has “reduced frequencies” on the faster Acela Express, but most other routes are running normally. Kathryn has more on POLITICO: http://politi.co/1nwqhif

Spread out: Anybody braving the snow and slush for a train ride in D.C. yesterday was rewarded with plenty of room to lounge around. “Anemic is a good word,” a spokesman said when MT asked about the ridership figures yesterday afternoon. At the time, ridership was 13 percent of what it would be on a normal Thursday. It was down over 300,000 rides — and that didn’t even include the evening commute. Winter weather causes a major downturn in Metro ridership; the impact of a snowstorm several months ago was three times that of the government shutdown in October, according to Metro’s planning blog (http://bit.ly/NHfMyc).

Snow jet: Not content to use a mere snow-blower or plow, Amtrak sent out an Instagram picture of its “snow jet” that clears the tracks of snow as it rides down them. Give it a look: http://bit.ly/1iTzsJr

VW UNION VOTE GETTING NASTY: Voting for 1,500 hourly workers at a VW plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., ends today. It’s a historic election — if the workers choose to join the UAW, it would be the first unionization of a foreign automaker in the U.S. The German company is used to unions but politicians in the South aren’t exactly on board. The UAW hit back at Sen. Bob Corker, who claimed — somewhat vaguely — that the company would reward the plant with more work if it defeated the union, something the automaker has denied. Here’s VW worker Eric DeLacy in an op-ed: “I’ve had jobs before, but I believe that Volkswagen is where I can really have a career and a future... The more I thought about it, the clearer it became that I supported unionizing. Unions give people a say in the decisions that matter and a voice that’s heard louder and stronger when we’re speaking together.” http://tnne.ws/1gdNrJI

Come to Michigan: Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing, Mich., said the automaker should come to Michigan, where “basic American rights and labor law” are respected and cars are a way of life. “We’re a car town. We make things. It’s what we do,” he said on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC. “We embrace all manufacturing — union, non-union, you name it.” He also took a swipe at Corker’s anti-union talk: “Corker should put a cork in it, don’t you think Ed? Give me a break!” http://bit.ly/1flsGb7

IT’S A PITY FRIDAY ONLY COMES ONCE A WEEK. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where today we’re celebrating the circa 270 beheading of Valentine for conducting secret marriages against the will of Emperor Claudius II. Doesn’t that make you want to buy some flowers and chocolate? Please be in touch: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: MT is taking Monday off for Presidents Day, but your favorite transportation newsletter will be back in your inbox on Tuesday morning.

HEADS UP FOR NEXT WEEK: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — a major lobbying force and player in the transportation bill — will hold its second annual transportation summit next Thursday. The business group gathered a guest list that reads like a who’s who in transportation. A few of the highlights: DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin Burke, AAR leader Ed Hamberger, APTA head Michael Melaniphy, Norfolk Southern Chairman and CEO Charles “Wick” Moorman and, of course, Chamber transportation expert Janet Kavinoky.

**A message from POWERJobs: Jobs on our radar this week: Rail Coalition Manager at Consumers United for Rail Equity, Central Control Supervisor at METRO and Senior Aviation Analyst at SAIC.Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at www.POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**

BUZZKILL: The FMCSA is poised to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking creating a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse for CDLs. The rule (http://1.usa.gov/1b0nAFx) has been sent to the Federal Register, an agency official told MT on Thursday, and could be published as soon as today. The 93-page NPRM includes a 60-day comment window, after which FMCSA can move forward with finalizing the rule and incorporating any needed changes. MAP-21 mandated that the clearinghouse — a database of drivers and their drug/alcohol test results and related accidents — be in place by Oct. 1 this year. The industry’s big lobby, the American Trucking Associations, praised the long-delayed rule, as did the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “This rule will help to close some loopholes and tighten the oversight of the drug and alcohol testing program in this country, ultimately improving safety by helping to identify and take unsafe operators off the road,” CVSA Executive Director Steve Keppler said in a statement to MT.

COMMITTEE SHUFFLE: The departure of former Sen. Max Baucus and arrival of new Sen. John Walsh set off a series of chairmanship changes and other committee shuffles. Walsh, Montana’s former lieutenant governor, will sit on the Commerce Committee that, as he noted in a statement, “has jurisdiction over a large range of issues affecting Montana including highway safety, energy, the Essential Air Service, railroads and freight, tourism and economic development.” Ron Wyden, a big proponent of bonds for transportation projects, takes the gavel of the Finance Committee tasked with funding this year’s bill. Sen. Mark Warner — a vocal supporter of an infrastructure bank — is expected to take the open Democratic seat on Finance. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who’s worked on a number of aviation issues as chair of the Commerce panel with jurisdiction over it, also takes the Small Business Committee gavel.

OLD DOMINION PRIUS OWNERS REJOICE: The Virginia Senate has voted to repeal the $64 annual hybrid vehicle fee that was part of former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature transportation bill. The lopsided 37-1 vote and Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s support mean the fee isn’t long for this world. The AP has more: http://bit.ly/1gCcyo1

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Ireland is defending its air safety record amid the uproar over it giving Norwegian Air Shuttle an operating license. Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1eTglQH

- Taxpayers for Common Sense says electric automaker Fisker is another example of a DOE failure. http://bit.ly/1lLRSNB

THE COUNTDOWN: MAP-21 expires and DOT funding runs out in 229 days. FAA policy is up in 594 days. The mid-term elections are in 263 days and the 2016 presidential election is in 998 days. MLB’s Opening Day is in 45 days.

CABOOSE — Snow route is better than no route: The recent frozen downfall had some bus-riders brushing up on the snow route map. Your MT host conveniently has one with lots of buses right out his front door, but not everybody is so lucky. Check out maps of the snow routes in D.C. and other places like Philly, Baltimore and Chicago, via the Atlantic Cities: http://bit.ly/1gcPRbv

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